Clothes-horse



(No Muclel.)

,A. W. BURNHAM.

CLOTHES HORSE.

Patented Oct. 13, 1885.

In mania:

Falnesaea,

? filler-n4 N. Puzns. PhmoLilhogmpher. Washmghm. 0.6.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDRE\V \V. BURNHAM, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

CLOTHES-HORSE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 328,183, dated October 13, 1885.

Application filed May 14, 1985. Serial No. 165,508. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW W. BURN- HAM, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Clothes Horses, of which the following is a description sufficiently full, clear, and exact to enable any person skilled in the art or science towhich said invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the acccmpanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is an isometrical perspective view representing my improved clothes-horse open and in position foruse; Fig. 2, a like view representing it closed for storage or transportation, and Fig. 3 an enlarged view of one of the braces detached.

Likeletters of reference indicate correspond ing part-s in the different figures of the drawings.

My invention relates more especially to that class of clotheshorses which are designed for indoor or domestic purposes; and it consists in a novel construction and arrangement of the parts, as hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed, the object being to produce a stronger, more effective, and otherwise desirable article of this character than is now in ordinary use.

The nature and operation of the improvement will be readily understood by all conversant with such matters from the following explanation:

In the drawings, A A represent the center legs, which are hinged together at their upper ends, as shown at 96, and adapted to be opened or separated at their lower ends, as shown in Fig. 1.

A pair of legs, B B, is disposed at either end of the machine, the end legs corresponding in length with those at the center and being correspondingly hinged together at their upper ends, as shown at m.

A series of horizontally-arranged rails or bars, 0 G connect the center and end legs, said rails being arranged horizontally end to end in pairs and respectively jointed to the legs, as shown at f, in the usual manner.

A horizontally-arranged brace, D, connects either pair of the legs B B, the ends of said braces being respectively jointed thereto, as shown at z, and each of said braces provided with a rule'joint, c, at its center, thereby adapting it to be bent upwardly, and permitting the legs to be folded, as shown in Fig. 2.

A brace, E, is secured to the outer face of each of the center legs, A, near its upper end, said brace consisting of a plate or body, I, which is screwed firmly to the leg and provided at either side with a laterally-projecting arm, t. The arms are connected to the plate by rule-joints a, which permit them to be folded downwardly into a vertical position, as shown in Fig. 2, but not to be elevated above a horizontal posit-ion, as shown in Fig. 1.

An elongated slot. 1', is formed near the inner end of each of the top rails, 0 the slots being respectively designed to receive the ends of the arms t, which are bent or curved downwardly over the outer sides of the rails, as shown at i, and enter said slots, as seen at h.

In nearly all clotheshorses of this character, in addition to the lateral braces, itis necessary to brace them in such a manner as to prevent them from falling or injury when subjected to a longitudinal or endwise strain, either accidentally or from the weight of the clothes they are required to sustain; but sometimes the devices employed for this purpose are not only complicated and liable to get out of order, but are not adapted to be folded automatically in conjunction with the legs and rails of the horse, and hence are inconvenient in use. My improvement is designed to obviate this objection; and to that end Islot the top rails, 0 and make use of the two-armed braces E as described, whereby, it will be obvious, the horse is firmly braced to resist any undue longitudinal strain from either end, said braces folding automatically in conjunction with the slotted rails when the horseis closed, as shown in Fig. 2.

I do not confine myself to the use of the slots 9". in the rails O and projections h on the arms 1?, as said arms may be caused to engage said rails in any other suit-able manner to enable them to slide thereon,and be automatically closed or folded therewith, if desired, although I deem the construction shown and described preferable to any other on account of its simplicity and cheapness neither do I confine myself to the use of two of the braces E, as one may be dispensed with, if desired.

Having thus explained my invention, what I claim is 1. In a clothes-horse, described, the brace E, attached to the upper end of the leg A, said brace being provided with the arms 23, connected to its bodylby the rule-joints a, and having the bends i and projections h, in combination with the rails C substantially such as having the slots a", substantially as described.

ANDREV WV. BURNHAM.

Witnesses:

" O. A. SHAW.

L. J. WHITE. 

